


Ignite

by Heather_Night



Series: Burn [2]
Category: Animal Kingdom (TV)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mistaken Identity, POV Deran Cody
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:02:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21639262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heather_Night/pseuds/Heather_Night
Summary: Linc cleared his throat, finally dislodging his hand from Craig’s.  “Are you two together?”His brother guffawed loudly.  “Fuck no.  This is my brother.”A wide smile broke across the guy’s face and Deran had to admit he was attractive.  Just his type, too.  So why was he having trouble keeping his focus on this conversation?  His mind was a million miles away.  Okay, not a million; 1,502.6 miles away to be precise.  It was a 27-hour drive to Tofino on the I-5.  Deran would know because he had looked it up last night after he was disconnected from Adrian on FaceTime.
Relationships: Deran Cody/Adrian Dolan, Deran Cody/Clark 'Linc' Lincoln
Series: Burn [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1559851
Comments: 6
Kudos: 22
Collections: Animal Kingdom ▶ Deran Cody / Adrian Dolan





	Ignite

**Author's Note:**

> The same thank you's apply--@allthehearteyes and Elizabeth Noble, you are the best!
> 
> If Deran/Adrian are your endgame then never fear. If you prefer Deran/Linc, my apologies; Linc is adorable but Deran is obsessed with Adrian.

Deran’s heart really wasn’t in Brennan’s party but he couldn’t really justify staying at home moping. 

Thinking about Adrian up in Tofino. 

With Théo. 

Not that he was jealous of some guy with a sexy French accent. Well, at least that wasn’t his overriding worry.

Adrian had looked, and sounded, miserable. Deran would’ve given anything to make Adrian feel better which was actually weird. Sure, he’d always stuck up for Adrian if anyone gave his friend shit but this was different.

More concerning.

Everyone seemed to think Deran was a recessive but he was pretty sure if he was that he wouldn’t feel absolute outrage at the thought of Adrian being in distress. Recessives typically kept their heads down; they were lovers, not fighters. 

Not Deran though—he wanted to do violence to the jackass who had decided to send his friend away.

He slipped his foot out of his flip flop and drew his big toe through the sand while holding the beer by the neck of the bottle. He glanced down and noticed he’d sketched an ‘A’. What was next—drawing a heart around the initial?

Disgusted with himself, Deran pivoted around and promptly collided with someone. The tall, buff guy with his hair in cornrows flashed a toothy white smile at Deran. “I’ve been hoping to bump into you but maybe not quite that hard. Hi, I’m Linc.”

The guy put his hand out and Deran’s manners asserted themselves independent of his brain. Linc was definitely a looker. Wide, brown eyes and dreamy muscles. 

His brother bumbled up at that moment, hip-checking his way past Deran. “Dude, you’re Clark Lincoln.” Craig turned and beamed at Deran. “We used to watch him kick ass on the motocross tour.” He turned back to look at the other guy so fast, Deran was pretty sure he heard his brother’s neck crack. “We saw you at the X Games.”

Clark ‘Linc’ Lincoln held his hand out to shake Craig’s. “Nice to meet you…?”

“Craig. And this is Deran.” Craig kept pumping the guy’s hand up and down enthusiastically.

Linc cleared his throat, finally dislodging his hand from Craig’s. “Are you two together?”

His brother guffawed loudly. “Fuck no. This is my brother.”

A wide smile broke across the guy’s face and Deran had to admit he was attractive. Just his type, too. So why was he having trouble keeping his focus on this conversation? His mind was a million miles away. Okay, not a million; 1,502.6 miles away to be precise. It was a 27-hour drive to Tofino on the I-5. Deran would know because he had looked it up last night after he was disconnected from Adrian on FaceTime. 

Then he’d swung by Adrian’s parents only to find the place empty; somehow, they’d moved out. He’d tried to find Adrian’s sister Jess but no one knew where she was or at least no one was willing to tell him. Jess hated him with a passion. Even if he found her, she probably wouldn’t have helped him.

“Um, I think that girl is trying to get your attention,” Linc pointed past Craig’s shoulder. Deran turned and saw Renn Randall, curves on display in her tiny bikini. 

Craig looked at Renn and then back at Linc, nose crinkled up. Conflicted. His brother finally made up his mind. “Nice meeting you, Linc. Maybe you can get Sourpuss here to lighten up a little. Give him a few pointers on, uh, stuff.”

Deran internally groaned. Linc had spent a lot of time in the public’s eye and it was a well-known fact that he was a recessive. A very sought-after recessive.

His brother trotted toward Renn but he gave Deran a look over his shoulder that was…weird. And his nose twitched again like he was trying to pick up a scent. Deran turned his attention back toward Linc.

The guy still smiled but he seemed confused. “What was your brother talking about? Pointers on what?”

If Deran had cared about Linc’s opinion he would’ve wanted to throttle his brother. He didn’t care other than he was nice eye candy to distract him at this party. He cleared his throat. “Craig thinks I could use some insider info on being a recessive.”

The smile slid from Linc’s face. His eyebrows pulled upward and the perplexed expression he made was cute. “You mean how to treat them right? I thought you dominants took the same classes as everyone else.”

Rubbing the back of his neck, Deran smiled wryly. “I didn’t really pay attention in class.”

He hadn’t had to pay attention; he didn’t need to since Adrian paid enough attention for them both.

Adrian who was in Canada.

“I know this is very forward of me but my Heat is coming up and I was wondering if you’d be my partner for it.” 

Hormonal surges happened on a regular cycle and most people called them heats. Adrian hadn’t been fond of the term but since neither one of them had direct experience to draw on, they kept their mouths closed when it came up.

Except this time. Deran’s mouth opened and then closed. He swallowed. He opened and closed his mouth again. He cleared his suddenly dry throat. “Um, you’re a recessive.”

Linc was frowning now. “Yeah, and you’re a dominant.” He said the words slowly, like either he thought Deran was dense or he wanted confirmation. The guy’s frown turned back into a half smile complete with heavy lids. “I could smell you as I walked up the beach, very hot and spicy.” 

Reaching into the side pocket of his cargo shorts—bending at the waist caused his abdominal muscles to flex and clench invitingly—Linc pulled out a card and proffered it to Deran. “Here’s my information. Maybe we could talk over a contract if you’re interested.”

Pope and Baz appeared, flanking him. Baz held out a card. “That has Deran’s information on it. We’ll wait to hear from your people.”

Linc dipped his head in acknowledgment, turned and sauntered back down the beach throwing a smile over his shoulder at Deran as he departed.

Baz smacked him in the arm. “Craig texted us, said you’d finally presented. Way to go, little bro. Smurf is gonna flip when she finds out you’re not recessive. And you’ve hooked a hottie for your first.”

Pope remained silent, his eyes hidden behind his polarized sunglasses, but he grunted and his lips twitched; that combination could mean anything from _you’re an idiot_ to _way to go_.

Deran didn’t know how he felt except for maybe tired. He tried to tuck Linc’s card into his pocket but Baz intercepted. “I’ll take that. Come on, let’s go tell Smurf your news.”

-0-

Deran did not tell Smurf his news. He hid in his room, staring at his phone, willing it to ring.

When it did, he gave a full body flinch. 

He didn’t recognize the number.

Grabbing it up he stabbed at the accept button. “Adrian?”

“Deran.”

_Finally._ “Adrian, where the hell are you? Are you okay?”

Deran didn’t even know which question he wanted the answer to more—if Adrian wasn’t okay, he was going to hurt someone but first he needed to see Adrian with his own eyes. Touch him with his own hands. Bring him home.

“I caught a ride with someone and I should be in Oceanside tomorrow.” There was a pause and then Adrian asked, “Can I see you?”

There were so many things Deran wanted to ask. Was Adrian okay? He hadn’t answered that question yet. Did Adrian know his parents had moved? 

_Did Adrian know Deran was a dominant?_

“Deran?” Adrian sounded panicky now. 

Deran needed to pull it together. Adrian needed him. “Yeah, of course. Let me know when you’re close to Oceanside, I’ll come get you.”

He heard a voice in the background talking to Adrian. “Um, I need to go. But they said I can call you.” There was a noise—a choked sob—and then Adrian sighed. “We need to talk.”

“Yeah, we do. Now get your ass back here, okay?” Deran’s eyes closed and his shoulders relaxed; Adrian was coming home.

“Okay. Bye.” With that Adrian ended the call. 

His bedroom door flew open and Smurf sashayed into his room, jolting him out of his peaceful state. “Sounds like you’ve had a busy day, baby.” She sniffed the air. “I guess your brothers are right—yet another dominant in the family.”

At least she didn’t seem pissed off about it. There wasn’t anything Deran could’ve done about how he presented but reason didn’t always control Smurf’s moods. 

She rolled onward, not giving Deran a chance to say anything. “This Linc is a good catch. You’re going to partner him for his heat. You’ll meet up with him the day after tomorrow at the Heat Center.”

“Smurf?” Deran dug deep to straighten his backbone. He knew she was going to be pissed when he told her Adrian was returning and that he didn’t want to partner Linc for his heat.

He didn’t know if Adrian was dominant, recessive, or the most common standard but he did know he had outrageously strong feelings for his friend and wasn’t interested in going through someone else’s heat with them.

“Yes, baby?” Smurf folded her arms over her chest and stared him down, lips pursed.

“What if I don’t want to partner with Linc?” Deran would wait to share his news about Adrian returning. Smurf had never been a fan of his friend although Deran could never put his finger on the reason. Adrian was respectful, polite, and understood Deran’s time was not always his own.

The smile remained on Smurf’s face, a twisted slash of red lips and white teeth, but her eyes were cold. “The contract is in place. You will honor it. For your family.”

Deran nodded his head and kept shut his mouth. He’d always thought he’d be on the other end of the contract—the sought-out commodity who could name his price—but this obligation was probably one of the only detractions of being a dominant, at least that he could see. 

Sex for money or prestige with little to no say over the particulars. Like partners. It was a common practice to have contracts for first time heats or for recessives. 

Smurf was big on both money and prestige in her own little world so Deran was truly fucked. Or to be more precise, he would be doing the fucking.

Most people thought dominants had it made; they got the better paying jobs—although he’d never find out since Smurf ran the family business—were physically and sexually aggressive and were able to defuse stress through sex with the more submissive recessives. Lots and lots of sex.

Deran wished he’d presented as a standard so he didn’t have to deal with any of this bullshit but he’d take being a dominant over a recessive any day.

Not that he’d tell Smurf that. He liked having his balls intact.

Smurf patted him on the cheek but Deran couldn’t say it was with affection. “It’ll be okay, baby. You need to start spending time with a better class of individuals now that you’re a dom.” She cocked her head and tapped her chin with a blood red finger nail. “You know, I thought that beach rat was the dom, not you. It’s really too bad he’s not around.” She sounded the furthest thing from feeling bad; she sounded extremely satisfied. 

Had Smurf sent Adrian up north? She left his room in a swirl of rose scented perfume before he could ask.

Roses made Deran want to sneeze.

He didn’t dislike Linc but they’d only just met. And Linc wasn’t Adrian.

After he took care of his contractual obligations, Deran would see about getting serious with Adrian. 

Assuming his friend would have him.

-0-

Deran navigated the Scout to the northern edge of Oceanside so he could intercept Adrian. His friend had called an hour ago and they’d arranged to meet at the Rodeway Inn on North Coast Highway. 

Well, they were actually meeting at Carrows Restaurant which was across the street from Rodeway but if everything went as Deran hoped, they’d be crossing traffic to get a room.

As soon as Deran parked the Scout, Adrian flew across the restaurant parking lot, oozing the fresh bakery smell he loved. Enfolding Adrian in his arms, Deran buried his nose in the side of Adrian’s neck and inhaled deeply.

Pure heaven.

Adrian suddenly straightened, just missing clipping Deran’s chin with his head. “You’re a dom,” he gasped.

“Yeah, and you’re recessive.” He wanted to tack on _and you’re mine_ but he had this thing with Linc hanging over his head. Instead he looked at Adrian’s face; the guy was still pale and tired looking but his eyes shown with a happiness that had been missing when they talked a few days ago. “Are you hungry? Or do you want to just get a room? I think we need some privacy to talk.”

His friend bent down and grabbed the bag he’d dropped as he flew into Deran’s arms. “The room, please.” 

Deran packed Adrian into the Scout and they crossed Coast Highway, pulling in front of the hotel’s entrance. He’d had the foresight to make a reservation so it didn’t take long until they were settled in a room. The carpet and drapes were a pretty combination of blues and greens but the bedspread, a weird orange and red pattern that clashed with the other colors, made his head spin. 

Adrian didn’t seem to care about the room; he stood there, bag clutched to his chest, staring at Deran. 

“Come here,” Deran held his hand out and Adrian dropped his bag again, stumbling toward him. He caught the other guy and tugged him against his chest, one arm bracing the back of his neck while the other rubbed up and down his spine.

Even thought he’d only been gone a few days, it felt like Adrian had lost some weight. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Adrian snuggled into him, rubbing his dick against Deran’s. “I am now,” he sighed.

Deran had always preferred skipping the foreplay but now that he had Adrian in his arms, he just wanted to kiss him.

Touch him.

Inhale him.

Adrian’s hands kept wandering toward the front of Deran’s shorts, playing with the fullness there, pushing Deran toward more physical acts.

“Wait, wait. We need to talk.” Deran captured Adrian’s wrists in his hands and squeezed, holding him still.

Completely still, except for his deep breathing, Adrian stared at Deran expectantly.

He wanted to sink into Adrian’s heat and stake his claim. 

First there needed to be honesty. “You know I want you, right?”

Biting his lip, Adrian nodded solemnly. 

“I want to be your partner.” Deran needed to get all of this out there.

“Please.” Adrian leaned toward him, seeking out his touch.

It was extremely hard to keep his hands still and not touch. He wanted to pet the supple, creamy skin. He wanted to squeeze the rounded globes of Adrian’s ass.

He wanted to bury his nose in the crease between Adrian’s thigh and his groin and just inhale his intoxicating scent.

But first, he needed to level with Adrian. “I have to do something tomorrow. Smurf made a contract and I can’t get out of it.”

The pretty pink in Adrian’s cheeks receded leaving behind a sickly pallor. His blue eyes, shining with happiness just a moment before, were now glassy and dim. 

“You’re going to partner with someone else?” The submissive sheen was truly gone as Adrian found his volume; Deran would’ve covered his ears but he was too busy trying to keep the suddenly bucking Adrian from jerking out of his grip. 

“Adrian, please. It’s just for one day and then we can be together.” Deran wrestled with Adrian, trying to subdue him. They’d done this a million times before but never had his childhood friend scrapped so hard to get away from him. 

“It’s not going to be for just one day. Heats take at least three days. And I’m supposed to, what? Just sit back while you get it on with someone else? Although I suppose I could go out and get a partner. That seems fair.” Adrian huffed out his words, mouth twisted but it wasn’t a smile. He almost kneed Dern in his nuts but it was Adrian’s words that flipped a switch in Deran.

“No! No one else is going to touch you. Do you hear me?” Deran hissed the words into Adrian’s face, his voice low and harsh. Commanding.

Adrian immediately fell to his knees and bent his head forward, body quivering.

Deran had used his dom voice. He didn’t even know he had a dom voice.

More startling, Adrian had submitted to his command.

Deran yanked Adrian up to his feet and tugged him toward the king size bed. Their feet tangled and they both sprawled onto the mattress.

His hormones coursed through him hard and Deran frotted against Adrian, his hips grinding cock to cock.

Adrian quivered beneath him, eyes shut, pliant in a way that made Deran want to fuck him.

Hard.

This wasn’t how he wanted his claim to go. Unfortunately, his body was past the point of no return.

He rose up onto his knees and manhandled Adrian over onto his stomach. His cock wedged into the crease of Adrian’s ass, their shorts the only barrier keeping them from consummating their partnership.

Deran swept the hair away from the base of Adrian’s neck and pressed a kiss there. His scent, vanilla and cinnamon goodness, filled Deran’s nostrils. He licked the skin hiding the gland controlling all this chaos. 

Giving into instinct, his teeth sunk into the skin.

Tension bled out of the body beneath Deran, Adrian’s whimper drilling into Deran’s heart. 

The urge to comfort his distraught partner was something Deran could no longer ignore. 

He carefully turned Adrian over, his hands settling around Adrian’s neck. He used light pressure, another instinctual gesture, to soothe. “Adrian, I don’t want Linc. I want you. But Smurf, she’s not going to let me out of the contract. It’s just one day. Or three. Then we can be together. Tell me you understand.” 

Adrian blinked his eyes open. Moisture swam in the twin pools of deep blue, leaking from the corners, trailing down the sides of his face.

Breaking Deran’s heart.

“It will kill me if you partner someone else,” Adrian sobbed.

His friend had never been prone to drama. As hormones flooded Deran’s system, turning him more aggressive, were they doing the same to Adrian? Making him more emotional? 

“Smurf won’t let me out of the contract, I tried.” He didn’t like admitting he was at her mercy but he’d never successfully gone against her.

Except, maybe, if you counted his friendship with Adrian.

Adrian sat up, forcing Deran to shift away. He touched the back of his neck and grimaced at the smudge of pink on his fingers. “Do you remember learning about heat sickness?”

Deran vaguely remembered something. If a recessive went into heat without a partner, they might get sick. He supposed that’s one reason Smurf was so hellbent on Deran not backing out of the contract with Linc. “Yeah, I remember.”

Keeping his head down, mesmerized by the smear of blood that served as evidence of the depth of Deran’s feelings, Adrian asked, “And you’re still going to leave me to partner someone else?”

Deran could only nod.

Turning away, covering his eyes with his hands, Adrian erupted into quiet sobs. 

Deran hauled him into his arms and did his best to soothe the storm of tears. 

He didn’t know how to make this up to Adrian but he vowed he’d find a way.

Finis

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt for this story was mistaken identity, in particular Deran was mistaken for a recessive when in fact he was dominant and the opposite for Adrian.


End file.
